Jayson Stark Applesauce - Mets should trade best player, Beltran ready, Murphy not the answer
by Joe Budd on Sep 8, 2009 8:03 AM EDT
in Applesauce
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Poor Tobi Stoner. He gets to go from one terrible New York team to another. With a name like that, he deserves significantly better.
Meet the Mets
Jayson Stark suggested that the Mets trade either Carlos Beltran or Jose Reyes to get grittier players. Of course, there was a great response on this blog. As well as by others (Toby Hyde).
ESPN's better baseball writer, Rob Neyer, takes on the assumption that Daniel Murphy will be an adequate first baseman in 2010.
Looks like Gary Sheffield and Carlos Delgado are done for the year. No surprises there.
Carlos Beltran is set to return.
The Billy Wagner trade has reportedly been completed with the Mets acquiring a .222 first baseman currently in Rookie ball.
On a side note, Beatles Rock Band looks awesome.
Mike Silva presents a reasonably fair list of intriguing players for 2010 (of course including Omir).
Around the NL East
Congratulations to Hanley Ramirez who hit his 100th career home run yesterday.
The Astros swept a four game series with the Phillies. That's nice. Charlie Manuel was grumpy.
JA Happ was forced to miss his start yesterday. He was replaced by Jamie Moyer.
The Nationals are thinking of moving Christian Guzman to second base next year. Does anybody know why he's still even in Washington?
Around MLB
Mark Buehrle finally picks up his first win after perfection.
The Yankees swept Tampa, but Derek Jeter is still 3 hits away from being the club's Pete Rose.
Prince Fielder ruffled some feathers by starting an earthquake.
Beyond the Box Score makes an irrefutable argument about the AL MVP.
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I agree with
several of the respondents to Neyer’s piece – it’s too early to tell whether Murphy can hit yet. In the Majors he has had a super hot streak, a super cold streak, and another hot streak, each of 2-3 months. If the Verducci effect is at work, I don’t see why next year we couldn’t see a line of .275/.340/.450 which would be ok with me. It’s not only runs that players cost but money. If we can get that production out of Murph at 1B then it’s all extra cash for the Holliday fund.
I agree too
I’m also unsure that we couldn’t and wouldn’t re-sign Delgado on a cheap, incentive-laden deal. You worry about his ability to stay healthy but he could keep 1B warm for Ike Davis while Murphy fills in short term on Delgado’s days off/DL stints.
I think Murphy can be a decent utility guy, an Eric Hinske type.
by TheBigStapler on Sep 8, 2009 10:49 AM EDT up reply actions
you mean AL MVP
Eric Hinske
"We're investigating the investigative procedure of the investigation of Tony Bernazard"---Omar Minaya (he really didn't say it but he would"
Apologies!
My comparison was rather gauche!
by TheBigStapler on Sep 8, 2009 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions
What does Stark know?
Beltran is as gritty as they come, and on his worst day he’s still one of the best centerfielders in the NL. And even if the Mets were to trade him, which they never will, it would be going against the age old adage of sell high and buy low. What could we possibly get for a centerfielder who has a cloud of micro fracture surgery hanging over him and is owed $18 million per season for the next two years? The suggestion by Stark wasn’t really thought out if you ask me. And as for Reyes, I’ll take his talent and you can keep your gritty .270 hitting ballplayer. No thanks.
As this season winds down, I just want to say thanks to Joe Budd for all his applesauce which is one of the highlights of the morning.
Seconded
Keep up the great work Joe Budd!
by James Kannengieser on Sep 8, 2009 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions
thirded on both counts
Joe D. is right on the money, and many thanks to Joe Budd for the applesauce. Its so great having a whole lotta Mets news conveniently organized in one place
"I reject your reality and substitute my own"
-Adam Savage
by blueandorange4life on Sep 8, 2009 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions
Thanks guys.
It means a lot that there are so many people who are reading and keep me honest. What does everyone think the pace should be during the offseason? 3x/week?
Adam Rubin has lobby for 3x/week
As long as there’s enough news.
3X should be fine..
I think you should have plenty of good stuff to choose from if you went 3X. Plus you’ll have all those juicy hot stove rumors! I almost love hot stove season as much as the regular season.
regular season >>> hot stove season
hot stove season >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> this season
Somebody should ask the Phillies what they think about Prince Fielder's celebration
they seem to have a pretty good handle on what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable jubilation.
by HotChipWillBreakYourLegs on Sep 8, 2009 9:39 AM EDT reply actions
As far as trading Beltran
Who with the financial means to take on his contract would trade for him and give up fair value? The only team with the payroll flexibility at this point to trade for him that I can think of is the Red Sox since unless the Yankees have any major expiring contracts I don’t see them adding another 18 million.
with reguards to Murphs Defense
Do you all really feel he is that bad?
I mean, every time I see Defensive stats, its followed by a note saying how Defensive stats are not perfect…
I have watched most games this year, and it really looks like he is awesome at 1b. Am I the only one that sees this?
My eyes say average to above average
Not sure about awesome, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised.
by James Kannengieser on Sep 8, 2009 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions
i like murphs defense at 1b
it has been pretty solid, with my only complaint being sometimes he ranges too far away from 1st to try to make a play, but thats likely just an issue of inexperience.
by KeithsMoustache on Sep 8, 2009 11:08 AM EDT up reply actions
Range
I would probably err towards ranging too much for ground balls given Castillo’s “range” out there.
by DannyMetsGeek on Sep 8, 2009 11:08 AM EDT up reply actions
Its a good point, castillo doesnt get to those plays like he used to
but it still creates a problem when he comes too far away from 1st and theres nobody to cover the bag after he makes the stop. It should be the pitcher, but they dont usually break straight to first on a ball to what should be the second baseman, so it results in some confusion when murph isnt there at first. Still I do like that he can cover as much ground as he does, he just has to figure out his limits.
by KeithsMoustache on Sep 8, 2009 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions
I like what I've seen from Murph defensivly
I don’t think, and I could be wrong, that that’s what most of the issue here has been with Murphy. For me at least, he needs to show that his bat can at least play close to average for 1b and he hasn’t done that yet.
"I reject your reality and substitute my own"
-Adam Savage
by blueandorange4life on Sep 8, 2009 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions
Second base/Utility
Nothing can get by him; especially in a small room: Mike Francessa
by GenJackRipper on Sep 8, 2009 1:10 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree with you as well
He’s been pretty damn solid at first.
Who the hell would of though the disastrous left fielder was saw would be this good at first. At least he’s got that going for him. I personally have high hopes for Murph so I would love to see him get consistency at the plate.
by dulciusEXasperis on Sep 8, 2009 10:44 PM EDT up reply actions
Murph has been awesome at 1B
I believe he’s second in the NL in +/- behind Travis Ishikawa, despite playing only about 80 games at 1B so far this year — with a year of work in the off-season, you might be looking at one of the best defensive 1B in the majors. Of course, that just makes him Doug Mientkiewicz.
One surprising problem with Murph
is that the walks have not been there for him. Only 35 this year, when last year it appeared he had nice discipline. He’ll have to get back to that to be effective.
Last year, Murphy saw an amazing 4.27 pitchers per PA, on average. This year, that number has dropped nearly 40 points to 3.89, which is certainly not awful but is definitely worse.
In case you’re interested in comparing, Wright sees 4.18, Castillo 4.31, and Francoeur 3.35.
by TheBigStapler on Sep 8, 2009 12:03 PM EDT up reply actions
Same here
I’d also like to see splits on how many pitches he sees depending on the count.
by TheBigStapler on Sep 8, 2009 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions
i'd guess a lot of his struggles come from pitchers realizing his trouble with inside pitches
he doesnt see them well and that turns into more strikes and badly hit balls in play. Once he learns to handle the inside pitch his pitches per should go back up a bit.
by KeithsMoustache on Sep 8, 2009 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions
i would imagine
that during his horrid may, his avg ppPA took a major hit.
It seems that after a hot start then a big slump, he has been improving across the board since. As in, he came out swinging… pitchers adjusted and now he is adjusting to that.
Why trade Guzman when he might have had some worth?
No signing him to an extension really made a lot of sense, especially since he’s the key to the Nats’ rebuilding.
Seriously, watching how the Nats and Redskins operate makes being a Mets fan somewhat more tolerable.
Beatles Rock Band
I played the demo at Best Buy – it’s pretty awesome. I had a hard time paying attention to the notes b/c I kept watching the band and all the screaming girls (it was the Ed Sullivan show stage), but it’s still great. I mean, it’s Rock Band so you know what you’re getting, but there’s just something awesome about playing as the Beatles. Also, who would have thought that last years rounds of baseball games wouldn’t be the last ones with Shea Stadium in it?
Did you score 1,000,000 points
and unlock super stardom?
Nothing can get by him; especially in a small room: Mike Francessa
by GenJackRipper on Sep 8, 2009 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions
I never liked Rock Band or Guitar Hero, more of a RPG/Action fan in video games
but it’s the freaking Beatles and I’m trying to fight the urge of paying $200+ for the game and all the instruments I’ll probably never use or use only once.
"We must win and we must know how to win rather than win because we have statistical people."
I was really anti-Rock Band/Guitar Hero
for a while, but then I played them at a friends party and we turned it into a drinking game and I got hooked. I bought the whole set and now every time I have people over it’s what everyone wants to do. I never play it sober though, haha – although the Beatles version might change that.
Well that's unfair
Self mutilation can be fun if it’s a drinking game.
"We must win and we must know how to win rather than win because we have statistical people."
You are Fags!
"We must win and we must know how to win rather than win because we have statistical people."
I don’t know if it is just my computer, but the format is totally fucked up right now. It might be coming from the inside the NFL ad. I had to scroll down a while before I could find any posts.
"It's like the old phrase goes.....The balls in your court now Mr.Church, so you take that ball, you dribble it up the court and....................................... get a layup"
- Keith Hernandez
It's an IE issue
It’s fine in Firefox, but when I try it in Internet Explorer I’m having the same issues.
Not a knock
but I think I can sense the theme of MetsBlog for the upcoming offseason
….if you don’t know ricco, and want to learn more about who he is, what he does, where he came from and where he wants to go. 1:41 PM
i like that he chokes up on the bat… it says to me, he knows who he is and what he’s about… 12:08 PM
to me, though, the Plan needs to dig deeper… the Mets need to do more than just tinker… they need to have a better understand of who they are, and where they’re going, and what they want to be… 10:39 AM
by Sokojoe on Sep 8, 2009 4:06 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs
Evidence that you know yourself:
choking up on the bat
doing-more-than-just-tinkering with a roster.
by TheBigStapler on Sep 8, 2009 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions
oh no i've never done either
guess i need to do some serious investigation into myself.
by KeithsMoustache on Sep 8, 2009 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Even though it sounds kind of cliche an vague
I don’t think that’s that bad of advice, we seem to pretty much live off-season to off-season with no sort of long-term plan. Our farm system is starting to turn around now but I remember reports from earlier in August saying they were planning on trying to trade for a front end starter, since we apparently can’t afford one in FA, which I imagine would be a major hit.
Gina, I don't think "vague" even begins to describe it
It means everything and nothing at all. No plan at all can be better than a bad plan.
by TheBigStapler on Sep 9, 2009 9:47 AM EDT up reply actions
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